Discussion: is torrenting always wrong?

Just wanted to get an idea of what the general consensus was on an issue I've been having lately. I've been on a nostalgia trip and am trying to track down some old gems to replay. The ones that I still have on disc are obviously fine and many have been re-released on Steam, GOG etc, but what about the ones that I don't have anymore or can't get? Can I (morally) torrent them? And does that differ if I've never owned the title yet it's not available to buy?

For example, my copy of Age of Empires 1 is scratched to hell and won't read any more but I can't find it anywhere to buy new - if Ensemble/MS won't be making any money from the sale, what do they care if I torrent it?

Alternatively, a game I played in a Japanese arcade that I've always wanted to buy (Typing of the Dead) is also not available to buy new from anywhere. If I literally can't get hold of a new copy then is torrenting still wrong?

As long as you're disregarding the law, and simply asking from an ethical/moral point of view, then you can potentially justify downloading and sharing copyrighted material in quite a large number of cases.

Doesn't really matter though. The law doesn't give a toss about your ethical justification for breaking it, and most people can sleep perfectly well at night knowing they've done something potentially unlawful as long as they've got away with it and nobody else has been overtly affected. So it's pretty much a moot question.

If it's something that the publisher/developer genuinely hasn't shown any intention of re-releasing, then ethically speaking I don't generally see the problem. In my mind they can't exactly complain about not getting revenue from it if they are showing no will to do so anyway. The Law is pretty absolute on the matter though.

I think the only game I've torrented is Halo on PC, as I bought the italian version and used my key for that on it. Still illegal, but I used my legitimately purchased key on it so it doesn't feel unethical.

I have also torrented a few MMO clients, which is totally legal and can be a lot faster than the official sites for some of them. There was also the bonus material for The Void, which they released as a torrent.

It's the moral obligation of everyone to torrent the shit out of anything with region locking, DRM or those fucking "You wouldn't steal a car" ads at the beginning.

My wife recently bought a bunch of Disney and Pixar DVD's from China so that our kids can watch them with Chinese audio. Did they work in our DVD-player? Hell no they didn't. Because we were foolish enough to buy original copies and not the pirated ones the peddle on every street corner. (Well no anymore since people stream nowadays)

Thank you Disney Corp for punishing me.

If you can read this you really need to fiddle with your forum settings.

Whether they are prices you want to pay, only you can answer but they are certainly available. That they are not available on some download service is a shame but you are not entitled to these things no matter how much you want them.

-cerberus- wrote:
@graysonavich The bigger picture is treating gamers as customers with respect, instead of criminals. The basic functionality of my games don't rely on a third-party program. Enter GOG. The end.

I'm a gigantic hypocrite, when folk brag about all the £40 AAA games they've downloaded for free on their modded consoles, or they make money from selling pirated movies, I can't help but think "You scummy cunt!"

Yet I'll quite happily download the latest US TV show to avoid waiting for it to air over here, or putting up with ad breaks, and I'll occasionally download a movie that doesn't have any UK release date in sight (Most recently Man of Tai Chi, and if they're good I do buy them when they finally show up) and attempt to justify it by thinking about the ridiculous amount of money I do spend going to the cinema each week, or topping up my ever growing Blu Ray collection.

Although to be honest, I literally can't remember the last time I paid for a music album.

Steam is a good example of "what's good for the goose is good for the gander". It's mutually beneficial and hard to begrudge the DRM aspects given how they're handled, and the huge benefits the service broadly offers.

Torrents are such a big waste of time and effort that I'd rather wait until a steam (and others) sale to buy a game I can't afford to get on release. If developers/publishers are going to offer ridiculous discounts, I'll take advantage of those and stay guilt free.

Nope, but when that third party software makes buying, installing and updating your games almost effortless and also provides benefits such as cloud saving and cheat protection... Well you're missing out, I'll just leave it at that.